Sandra's profilesandra's garden of peace...PhotosBlogListsMore ![]() | Help |
|
|
January 01 our new baby grandsonMarch 24 Grandma's no 1 treasureFergus coloured in a picture for a competition and won 3rd prize in the under 3 group.
I should have taken a pic of the colouring before sending it as it was very colourful.Fergus is so happy to have a'letter' & even posed for the photo ! Fergus' chicken pox have almost gone now and I am hoping to get photos of both our grandsons together this weekend .Sorry not to have been around ,my computer is so slow and I am seriously considering a new one .....until then ,thanks for recent visits & I will catch up eventually ...I must just make it clear that the page Fergus is holding is the certificate he was sent & NOT his own colouring :-) March 11 FERGUS HAS CHICKEN POXI took a photo of Fergus showing his spots , but they don't show up too well .Thankfully he has not been troubled too much by them & as they came out over 4 or 5 days he got used to it gradually .The ones on his head kept him awake one night but apart from that & the runny nose he had for three weeks before all is well with him .
The timing was bad as our other baby grandson & family were visiting at the weekend and I wanted to get photos of them together ....maybe next time all will go to plan .Fergus was sad not to be able to " play with William" but he did see him & said " baby William is beautiful grandma " January 30 Baby ...another grandson to treasure :-)December 11 Grandma's little puzzlerIt is so long since I updated on here ...so here goes .
Fergus will be 27 months old ,to the minute,by the time I have written this !He is turning into a puzzler .Not surprising when we are a family who enjoy jigsaws and puzzles .I bought a new 15 piece jigsaw ,thinking it would take a while to work out .We did it together once and after mixing up the pieces I went to put the kettle on .Then a little voice said "it's finished grandma"....and there was the 'peppa pig 'puzzle completed !
So I got the camera out for the next time.Since then we have upgraded to some more challenging stuff ,but nothing seems to put Fergus off and he soon works out the easiest way ,usually starting with a face or some easily recognised part .
We have both had a cold and cough virus that seems to be taking an age to clear ,the postman told me there seems to be half the town ill ..he looked healthy enough ,maybe we need to get out in the cold air more .brr !
I spent an enjoyable day in the Hull museum area last month.An elderly uncle made it even more interesting and enjoyable by recounting his wartime memories as he showed me around the streets leading to the Streetlife museum .He makes 'memory tapes' for several of us as presents each Christmas .He has an amazing recall of events and remembers past business premises with clarity ....and has a store of memories well worth listening to which give a good history of Hull too:-)
July 02 Fergus has fun !Fergus had a great time on Saturday afternoon out in the sunshine with the dogs when Wayne and Liz came to visit with Ben and Basil and Gavin and Sonia called with Woody.Initially we were wary of letting the dogs & Fergus run around together as Woody is such a large puppy now and when Fergus runs so does Woody :-) Mix in Ben and Basil and some water and a great time was had by all ,though our backyard looked as if a tornado had hit ...with the small gravel spread all over from the activity .Fergus didn't mind the dogs playing around him and enjoyed the "snuffling" from Woody and when Ben growled at Woody getting his tail Fergus asked "who burped ?"The dogs watched as an excited Fergus carried water and tipped it out to form a puddle to play in .By the time he had finished he was soaked through to his underwear and his boots were very wet..at least the sun was shining to keep him warm ! When it turned chilly we all went into the conservatory for the dogs and Fergus to dry out while poor Scooby cat was banished to the back entrance and bathroom for his own safety .Ben always has a look at Pepper hamster by snuffling at his cage ,which bothers us more than Pepper ! April 22 Just look at This !Sunday 22nd April
Wayne and Liz (eldest son & wife) visited us yesterday with their dogs,Ben & Basil.With a little encouragement from Liz Basil quite happily sat in Fergus' ride in car long enough for me to get several fun pics of him .
.....................................................................................................................................................
Just to show that I do sometimes make the bread I enjoy eating ...this batch was made today .
April 14 My weekI seem to have spent most of this past week in play parks .When Fergus wants to go to the park he says"park...come on " and how can I refuse him ,I also went to visit my nephew and niece and took them to the park at the end of their road ,the day was warm,as you will see in the photos ,and we enjoyed our time together ,Now that they are both at school I don't see them as often but I am hoping to take them out more during the summer break .They are having swimming lessons together at the local pool and I intend to go and watch them ... Logan ,who will be 7 in september ,was not sure he wanted to get in the pool at all and told his mum,my sister,that she should get her money back ,as NO WAY was he getting in there ! Fallon ,5 in June ,is enjoying herself and trying to encourage her brother ....bless her !
MY NEPHEW LOGAN & FALLON MY NIECE HAVING FUN March 23 Fergus !During the last few weeks Fergus has amazed us with his new words and his understanding of instructions .He now asks for different foods and drinks can identify all the fruit and vegetables & foods he eats and say the names well enough for us to understand what he "needs".He is eating tea right now ,as I am writing this and asked me to "tut" his "bwread " and said "thanks" when I did !
to be continued when Fergus goes home :-) Whilst eating his tea Fergus has instructed me on the name and position of his "face ,smile ,teeth ,ears .eyes ,hair, nose" and several other words I am still working through :-) saturday afternoon ...
Some of Fergus'words are so clear and I get a pleasant surprise when a little voice says "gran-ma " over and over stressing the 'ma' ...lol..I love to hear any little ones learning to talk but listening to Fergus brings back such lovely memories of our 3 sons when they were his age .Fergus remembers the names of the shapes in his shape box and can say them well enough for us to understand him and also knows the colour of them .When I ask him to bring me a book for a story ,he searches through several until he finds the one he wants ,and like all little people he enjoys repeating the story over & over and contributing his own version .Fergus has always liked nursery rhymes and now asks for the one he wants and fills in the last word of each line ..some are in books and he can find them as quickly as I can .One he likes just now is 'I see the moon and the moon sees me 'and is so cute when he tries singing along and hugs himself on 'shine on the ones I love' which is the last line :-)
Fergus has also started 'pretend' play ...getting shoes and coat to "go" "gran-ma play", and a bag and purse to "go - shop" now and then he surprises us with several well linked words ...usually when he gets excited with traffic or animals ! He likes to stand in the window to watch passing traffic, and as our road is on the town bus route he recognises the sound of the bus as it comes up the road and shouts to tell me "bus ..big " and can tell identify the sounds of cars vans and motorbikes before he sees them ,and sticks his index finger up & says "issen" whenever he hears anything in the distance .Just now he likes puzzles and is finding them too easy after doing them so much so his daddy bought him new ones and he did those as quickly as the familiar ones !
When we are out and about people are often surprised when Fergus answers their questions,when he is asked where mammy and daddy are ..he says "work" and if I ask 'and where does mammy work ?' he answers "tecso"(Tesco really ) .He likes to be asked where his older brother and sisters are ,and now says their names clearly and says "school -books -read-play "For a long time now he has been able to tell us a 'story' about what has happened to him during his day ,which is funny to listen to as he likes to repeat and illustrate these stories with actions of pretend crying or excitement and smiles.As you can well imagine we have to be careful of the words we use as they are going to be repeated at some time ..."stink" is one he does well both the word and the face pull to go with it :-)
anyway ..you get the idea ,I am so proud to be Fergus' "gran-ma" and the more I praise him the more he wants to please me ....
photos taken on Friday 23rd March 2007 of real teatime and pretend tea :-) January 21 Fergus has a fallFergus tripped and fell against a solid wood door on Friday,thankfully not when I was minding him ! .When I arrived Jason was more worried than Fergus who was already running around again an. When I asked him what he had done he pointed at the door then bent down & put his head against it to show me what had happened & then pretended to cry ..this clever & amusing demonstration was repeated later in the afternoon at our house for grandad's benefit :-)
I think this is going to be similar to the hamster bite event , acted out regularly and remembered for ever !
what a bruise !
nothing to worry about really :-)
ready to got to the park today,the bump is going down now .
November 30 On holidayI am enjoying my holiday in Cambourne ,staying with Wayne, our eldest son ,and his wife Liz ...and their dogs Ben and Basil. The new home they moved into earlier this year is in a 'newly built community ' about 10 miles from Cambridge http://www.cambourne-uk.com/cambourne_today.html It is an attractive place with many different syles of housing set out in areas surrounded by trees and grassland . There's a health centre & a library , a school , vet,dentist ,church ,community centre and a Morrison's supermarket all within a few minutes walk from the cul-de-sac where they live .The grassed areas and ponds and lakes give the area a spacious country feel .The speed limit throughout the village is 19 miles an hour,and there are cycle paths from the school in the centre to all the various parts of the village ,making it safe for children to cycle .
I have been out and about with my camera to try and give an idea of what the place looks like ,I haven't been as far as the lakes yet ,but hope to go there at the weekend .Wayne and Liz set off early this morning to celebrate Liz's 30th b/day ,they travelled on the Eurostar train from Waterloo station London through the channel tunnel to Paris where they will enjoy 3 days away while I mind the dogs. All I have to do is feed them and chase them outside now & again into the back garden for excercise and toilet...easy ! I intended catching a bus into Cambridge today ,but had a change of plan as the bus was just disappearing down the road as I turned the corner :-( So I walked around by 'The Ark ', a temporary church building ,to get the service times for Sunday ,and then went in search of 'The Hub',a lovely new community centre, the venue for this week's service .I was pleased I did as the playgroup had just finished and I met the vicar's wife and little boy ...just need to make sure I get up in time now as there is just one service at 10 am !
I will put some pics on here and some in a new album for anyone interested in what this 'new build' place looks like .I know some family members who haven't visited here yet will be :-D
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Sunday 3rd December
The First Sunday in Advent
The Advent Wreath is the widely recognized symbol of Advent. The wreath is made of a circle of evergreen branches laid flat to symbolize eternal life. Four candles (traditionally red) stand in the circle and each one represents one of the four Sundays of Advent. In the centre of the circle is a fifth candle (traditionally white), the Christ Candle, which is lit on Christmas Day.
Why is the Advent Wreath so special to Christians? The green of the wreath speaks of the hope that Chrisitans have in God, the hope of newness, of renewal, of eternal life. Candles on the wreath Candles symbolise the light of God coming into the world through the birth of His son, Jesus. The four outer candles represent the period of waiting during the four Sundays of Advent, which themselves symbolise the four centuries of waiting between the prophet Malachi and the birth of Jesus. The fifth and central candle is lit on Christmas eve to signify - Jesus the Light of the world. The four traditional advent themes for the four advent Sundays are: The Last Candle, the fifth candle, represents Christ and his birth. ..............................................
November 19 What a week !It has just been one of those weeks,I spent 2 days without my computer last weekend ,while cat minding for Gavin and Sonia , and then decided to go home for it and used the non-wireless connection at their house ,thing was I couldn't send any mail out from my computer so by the time I was back home again I had about 5 days mail to catch up on,which has taken me all week !
On Wednesday Fergus poked his finger into the hamster cage and Pepper bit him ,I don't know who was most shocked ,a screaming Fergus the hamster or me ..lol ..I was too slow in getting to him to prevent the bite ,but I scared poor little Pepper by rushing towards the cage and he didn't come back out of his bed all day . Fergus is keeping his distance from the cage and keeps trying to tell us what happened by holding out the bitten finger and pretending to cry ..no real harm done ,we all survived ! This week has been a climbing time for Fergus too,at home he has been climbing out of his cot and one time he had the sleeping bag on but still managed it ! At our house when he is not scrambling to great heights he is moving furniture and cushions around ....pics below.
He is such fun to watch and to listen to when he is 'busy ' he still whistles and sounds so cute sucking in and blowing out to make a whistling sound as he wanders about causing havoc in our home !
peace and blessings
sandra November 02 A Sunny Thursday in England It is a lovely day here ,glorious sunshine and clear blue sky ...not that I have been outside the door yet as I have been trying to catch up on all the kind and encouraging comments I have recieved .Thankyou ...again ...and again ...lol.I promise I WILL pass the driving test !
Enough about that ,as Fergus' mum , Zowie ,was on a work related course away from town yesterday I had Fergus on Tuesday night and all day yesterday instead of the usual Wednesday night ....which I didn't mind at all .Thing was he was very sick in his cot at around 10 pm ....so I changed him and the bedding and settled him down again and he seemed okay .Then at around 1 am he was restless and then wide awake by 1;30 am ..so I thought he maybe was hungry after 'losing' his bedtime feed and went to get a bottle for him .Well I lifted him from the cot and sat on the bed ....then like a volcano the vomit shot out and poor Fergus was retching and wondering what was going on ....how there could have been so much left in his stomach I'll never understand .Poor little thing kept pointing at the bedroom floor and making pretend 'burp ' noises .He settled down again but refused the bottle ...all was well if restless until about 3:30 and then the smell alerted me to another problem .Fergus was standing waiting to be lifted out and the stink was ...well !
So grandma got the worst night ever ...we did get some sleep after that but it was obvious that Fergus wasn't well when he refused breakfast and anything I offered to eat or drink ...by lunchtime his temperature was up and I went to the corner shop for medication to lower it.Whist getting ready to go out Fergus did perk up a bit but then just sat still in the pushchair ....his little face flushed . By late afternoon I was getting very concerned about him as he was so obviously ill and his temp was high again ...it was a relief when his mama came as I was considering ringing Jason to get Fergus to the doctor's surgery .....Zowie went to get Jason from work and they went along to the doc's ... where they had seen several other babies presenting with the same symptoms...they were advised to give him more medication to lower his temp. as it was 38.05 C ...and take a poo sample in today .
When I rang earlier Fergus had done 'his part' for the sample ,and was a bit better ,but weak ....
I'm not sure why these things happen,but if Fergus had been at home onTuesday night Zowie would have missed the course and Jason would have missed work ...things have a way of working out for the best beyond our control .
Thankyou Lord for giving me the responsibility of looking after Fergus while he was ill ....and praise You that he is on the mend already ..
Friday 3rd ..Fergus is not well and is refusing food and only taking small amounts of fluid,his temperature is near normal now and he seems happier in himself after going out for a walk this afternoon .
Saturday 4th /sunday 5th ..We had Fergus here today as his mama is ill now and his dada was working ...
Fergus is now taking more fluids and asking for food but not eating much when ghe gets it ,the sickness has stopped but the 'other end' is still a problem :-) So it seems that I have avoided the bug and Fergus is on the mend...thank You Lord , I have had no time for anything else for the past few days and am weary now but not sleeping tonigh it is 3:40 am and here I am wide awake but tired ! October 25 testing testingJust making sure I can still get in to edit mode ...lol...I am hoping that the access to some of your spaces from the friends link will also sort itself out too...I haven't got around to updating my profile after my birthday ,I've been putting it off as last time I updated it I 'lost'the photo :-)
..........................................
Last week I had one of my recent poems ('My own 23rd ', posted on here on the 17th June, )accepted for publication by Forward Press ,it is several years since I have submitted anything so I was quite pleased ..thanks Tom for encouraging me to send some work in again :-)
.............................................
It is so quiet when Fergus goes home....he has enjoyed playing in the tent as he likes hiding,also he has started going underneath his highchair and would rather play with things like stools , chairs and cushions or a cardboard box than with toys . Fergus is never still and runs rather than walks ,he now recognises the tunes on some of the pre- school programmes on TV and dances and sings in excitement ....and joins in with rhymes and actions ...he has an old remote control that he points at the TV ...he calls it 'mote'.One of his molar teeth is just cutting through and the others look sure to follow soon .Fergus loves food and eats well ,he weighs 25lbs and 4 ozs and is just over 31ins tall ..he tries to copy any word we repeat to him and has so many recognisable words that we have lost count .
................................................................................................................................................
re :- my driving test ..
didn't pass ...my shoes were wet & my foot slipped off the brake when moving off outside test centre so I got a serious fault for control !
I hoped he was going to let it go as it was pouring with rain and no traffic too near ... not worth risking his job,they have to stick to the rules I only got 4 minor faults during the rest of test ...I am so disappointed ,but the man (same one as last time )said it was a really good drive and not to give up as it could happen to anyone ...okay for him to say !
so here we go again unless you are giving up on me now :-(
PSALM 20 LIVING BIBLE TRANSLATION
I took psalm 20 as a word for me .....which on re reading it was ,except I was looking at v 5 ..about victory ,and it was v 1 ... "may the God of Jacob keep you from all harm " and He did ...praise Him for that :-D
I could have caused an accident as that section road is usually busy at lunchtime & it wasn't yesterday ..God is good
*blessings*
sandra October 06 My mid -week treat ! Some of you already know that I have Fergus overnight on wednesdays...he is 'grandma's treasure'...and what a pleasure he is too ! The bathtime problem was solved this week ....I used a large underbed storage container in the shower tray .Last time I put Fergus in the shower tray he would't come to me to get out & I had to roll my jeans up and wade in to get him :-) the kitchen sink is not practical now he is bigger and splashes so much ,and the kitchen floor was saved from another soaking, After storytime and a bottle Fergus usually sleeps well ....
However this week we both had a restless night .I slept badly for the first half and Fergus was really unsettled from 2 30 ish onwards.Even so we managed to sleep until gone 8 30 am ,when I was woken to kisses and gentle pats on my face ...as I had taken Fergus into bed with me at at around 4.30 am hoping we both could settle down ...his hair was all fuzzy and he still looked tired but the smile was worth a million !
Fergus says so many recognisable words now ,adding more daily ...when we do not understand him he repeats the word over until we do ,and then smiles as if to say 'at last they got it '. He loves nursery rhymes and joins in with the actions and words he can say ,twinkle twinkle little star and hey diddle diddle are two he enjoys and ba ba black sheep . When we read books he will point at the picture asked for and enjoys repeating the same book over and over with whoever will put him on their knee,sometimes running from one to another of us to do this :-)
Babies are such clever little people and I love to take the time to listen to Fergus and watch him play .Just now he likes to push cars along making 'brrm brrm' noises and 'ne nah..ne nah' for his fire engine, ambulance and police vehicles ..which he now refers to as 'ne nahs':-) He does have his moments though ,now he can climb 'anything and everything' I cannot take my eyes off him for a second ...he now piles cushions up to get higher so nowhere is safe and he climbs the stairs quicker than I can ,it is a bit like 'fast forward ' watching him these days ...lol August 16 Fergus on WednesdayToday started earlier for me than usual as I was 'up & about' before 8.00am. Scooby our elderly cat was making such a racket on the stairs mowling for his breakfast that I had to get up and feed him.
Then I struggled to get around some spaces .....bad day for doing that ,I only got into a couple and wasted nearly two hours !
As I have Fergus on Wednesday afternoons and overnight I knew that I wouldn't get a chance later on as he is into everything and unless he is in the playpen I cannot take my eyes off him for a second. He is such good fun now though so I am not complaining...he likes to entertain us with all the sounds and words he knows :-)
a few things are quite clear 'there' is a favourite just now,but he says lots of other recognisable words ...cat & car, mam -mam, and dad- dad, which he has been saying for ages and now says ammah and andad when he sees us:-)
This past few weeks he is trying to copy anything we repeat over to him and has learned some animal sounds which makes us laugh and then he does them again & again .Fergus likes books ,well he always has but used to prefer eating them ...but lately he knows which book he wants & sits turning the pages and 'reads 'each page ...lol
at this stage babies learn so quickly and I have always been fascinated at how fast they can learn and the look on Fergus' face when he realises we understand him is precious ! ,another interesting thing is he knows what a burp is & says burp when he does one ! For a long time now he has been able to make us undertand whether it is a drink or food he wants by making two distinctly different noises.
After tea this evening I let Fergus walk to the shop around the corner...big mistake ,he was more interested in the gates than getting to the shop :-) then I put him in the pushchair & took him to the park at the top of our road.he loves to climb on & off the roundabout & slide and is now happier doing that than sitting in the swings,we take his football and he kicks it around saying butbaah or baah ,see he has the words but just needs the f's and l's !
Tonight when he was having his bath in our kitchen sink he was trying to say splash splash ,each time I said it he repeated it in his own way whilst soaking the kitchen floor ...as we only have a built in shower the sink is the best option for now ..well I thought it was, but I did get very wet tonight ...lol
One of his favourite nursery rhymes just now is ba ba black sheep and when we were doing it today instead of nodding the yes sir yes sir( which he can & usually does ) he shook his head for no whilst saying essir essir
well Fergus has been in bed since 8 30 pm ,he played sprinting around & across the cot for a while & then I could hear him singing & clapping but he went to sleep at about 9 20pm so I had better myself to bed or I will not want to get up with him in the morning . August 02 pics from the pastMy cousin Jaqcui ,who now lives in Australia, sent me these photos of us when we were children .They were taken in my maternal grandparents garden .
back row Chris (cousin) Chris & Rod (my older sister & brother)
seated Jacqui & Tony (cousins) and me standing aged about 9 months .
back..Chris middle row me age about 5 years ,Hazel (sister)Jacqui
kneeling .Tony
We all lived in Nafferton (small village 3 miles from where we now live )and our house was only a few minutes walk away from gran's house so we saw our grandparents most days.
My auntie Dot,(Jacqui's mum,)and my mum were very close sisters and did everything together.
( auntie Dot & her husband and my mam .)
How close they were shows in how they chose the names of their firstborn children .My sister Chris (Christine ) was born first in March 1945 and then my cousin Chris (Christopher)in august 1946
(I posted a blog about cousin Chris in family on 29th May )
My cousins family went to Australia as my uncle was in the Army. (Chris stayed in England in residential care from age 6 years until he died age 58 last April.)
Then when my mam died in 1968 and gran in 1970 and grandad in 1973
we lost touch with the Australian relatives until my cousin Jacqui came over from Australia to find her English family in the 1990's !
Since then she has been to Driffield several times and we keep in touch by e-mail and messenger.
June 30 As if !This is what my grandson came dressed in today ...
Grandma +Me=Trouble ......as if !
........................................................................................................................................
a Christian family singing group ..worth listening to ! June 15 Baby mindingAs Fergus' bedtime is now between 8 & 9 pm it is more practical to have him stay overnight on Wednesdays when his mammy & daddy both work until 10pm.
When he came at lunchtime yesterday he was not well and looked flushed ,he did settle down & have a good afternoon nap and seemed happier at teatime.He ate all his tea and spent nearly two hours with me in the backyard.
Now that he is walking he never stays still ,he alternates crawling and walking to get where he wants.
Then I put him in the pram and we went for our walk around the neighbourhood until it was bath time ...or sink time ...
Fergus enjoys going in water & as soon as he gets his clothes off he shouts with excitement and flaps his chubby little arms as if they are wings and once in the water uses the same action to send water everywhere across the kitchen and up the window and all over me ...after all this activity ,once dried powdered and clothed he was ready for his bedtime bottle and was in his cot by 9pm.
As he woke several times in the night he was still tired at 7.30 this morning so he had a nappy change & a bottle and I put him in bed with me.It was so lovely to watch him quite contented next to me clapping his hands and chattering away...pleasures of being a grandparent !
The next thing I heard was the telephone ringing...it was after 9 o'clock ! Fergus was still fast asleep next to me ...
what a good baby he is ...hope it lasts ...lol
(photos.taken wed.14th june ) May 29 My cousin ,Christopher WilsonLast year my lovely cousin Chris died aged 58 years ... he was born with the umbilical cord wrapped tightly around his neck. My maternal grandparents looked after him at their home in Nafferton until he was 6 years old & then he was taken to a large institutional type hospital for the mentally handicapped ,set in lovely grounds, where he lived until Granville Court in Hornsea was built in the 1990's. I began visiting Chrissie at his new home in Hornsea. Very soon I realised that he was loved by the many carers & was popular with other clients visitors too.... his language skills were not brilliant but he could communicate his needs."Cuppa coffee/tea please" & "put kettle on" were priority for him as soon as I arrived ! His love of jelly babies & chocolate was known by everyone who went into the bungalow,when upset by anything Chris would come out with some "colourful language " He also had a way of singing swear words to music on the radio ,how he learned that I will never know !(certainly not learned in his first 6 years) How much he was loved was demonstrated when he died , Chris was "at home" when he went to Glory ,just a few hours after we left him,surrounded by the carers who,to him, were his "family". (the home got bank nursing staff to cover the shift so that they could all ,attend the funeral in Driffield .) I arranged the service with Mike our vicar ,well really I went & had a coffee at the vicarage & talked about Chris ! The outcome was a moving goodbye to a much loved family member. All things bright & beautiful & Jesus loves me this I know (ones Chris & I sang together & gran had taught him ) were chosen & his carers brought some of Chris' own music Vera Lynns "We'll meet again "was played during the service & we left church to the music of "Daisy Daisy give me your answer do.. "which may sound an odd choice to many ,but Chris will have been singing along & enjoying it !
|
|
|